Sápmelaš

Sápmelaš, originally Sábmelaš, was a magazine written in Northern Sámi that was published in Finland from 1934 to 2001.

History and profile

Sápmelaš was launched in 1934 by Sámi Čuvgehussearvi and was financed by the Finnish government until 1995, after which the Sámi Parliament in Finland financed it for 6 years. 2001 saw the magazine fold due to a lack of financing.

The first editors were Paavo Ravila (1934–1943) and Erkki Itkonen (1934–1950). Although neither Ravila nor Itkonen were Sámi, they were both professors of Finno-Ugric languages at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Jouni Kitti served as editor from 1980 to 1998.